We are visiting WDW for the first time in Wed Jan 27-Mon Feb 1. We will only have 4 full park days with 4 girls ages 1,5,7,10. We have been to DL many times and most likely will be there in October 2021, so our priority is things that we can’t do in DL but that our kids will love.
Some questions I have. Frozen ever after is a must for us. Depending on how things work out exactly we could possibly spend the last couple of hours of Wednesday Jan 27th at Epcot. Will my kids want more than that at Epcot? I’m concerned without park hopping that we will want two days in either Hollywood Studios or Magic Kingdom and not sure we will need a whole day for Epcot.
I’ve seen in lines chat that people recommend HS for a weekend since it is busy all the time. I feel like there is so much to do there for our kids I should plan it for a weekday for the lowest crowds possible??
For the weekend, I’m thinking animal kingdom and a beach day.
I’m completely new to WDW, so I appreciate all the feedback. This trip is only possible because COVID has the cost of flights down so low! It is usually double for our family of to fly to Florida vs California! So I know its unusual times, but I thought we could make the most of it. 6 plane tickets add up fast!
Looks like ur going during low crowds times anyway so HS on a weekday vs weekend might make sense. Weekend crowds will bring the locals. Not sure if this holds true for this time of year though. 2 days at HS is a bit much for me. I would plan a full park day at Epcot. This is unique to WDW vs DL. There are other things than Frozen that your group will enjoy too. Also, I think you could do MK in one day if your sticking to the unique things at MK vs DL.
Since I come from the opposite coast I have the reverse issue with going to DLR!
Sure! The World Showcase isn’t just for adults. There’s all kinds of treats from “around the world” to try. Plus, for kids those ages it’s almost like being in those countries!
In FutureWorld, if they might like The Seas with Nemo and the aquarium. There’s Three Caballeros boat ride in Mexico - plus the inside of the Mexico pavilion is very pretty. (It’s always nighttime there!)
Also, since you’re kids are still pretty young they’ll probably like Journey Into Imagination and Spaceship Earth.
I think you’ll find enough to do if you are only there for a half day. (Plus, the rumors are that Epcot is preparing to do fireworks before any other park)
IMHO - I love DHS, but right now there isn’t enough to do - especially for younger kids. If I had kids that were “tweens” or older I’d say you’d want two days there.
Also, since you are regular DLR guests you may not want two days at MK either. For me, my family & I could live at MK and be happy! However, since this is your first trip and you want to be just do unique items, I think you can do want you want in a single day with a good Touring Plan
With only 4 park days and the age of your kids I would recommend a full day at Epcot and one day at HS. There actually isn’t a whole lot for little ones to do at HS, and at Epcot there are several rides that any height can go on, as well as The Seas and character cavalcades. AK on the weekend is a good call, and I’d probably pick HS for a second weekend day if you needed one. There is so much to do in each park, as a family I don’t think you will find yourselves bored in any of them. The main frustration I have found traveling with the under-4 crowd at WDW is the small number of rides they can ride at HS and AK. Now with shows and character meets being on hiatus, and playgrounds closed, there aren’t many alternatives to keep them busy. Hopefully by late January more shows will be back.
Thanks for all the specific info!
Your response is more along my original thoughts. I haven’t really dug into all that each park has to offer, I’ve mostly just looked at the headliners. I have the Unofficial guide, but it’s 800 pages!! WDW has so much to read over to understand what is really different.
Good to know about the under 4 crowd at HS and AK. I haven’t researched all the rides yet. Normally I would read through all the details before really planning, but I feel like I’ll need to make park reservations before I have all the time I would like to study the parks.
Ok I can’t resist the impulse to say…if you are coming all that way for the first time, and have an extra day, why not add a 5th day to your tickets? Or at least consider that as an option, you can do it mid-trip. It doesn’t cost that much more and then you have more flexibility to return to whichever park you feel you want more time at. There is really SO much to do, in 8 trips as an adult I still don’t feel I’ve done it all. So if this isn’t going to be a regular destination for you, make the most of it!
We are also frequent DLR visitors and hadn’t been to WDW since 2012. We just went in August. The big difference is my girls are 17 and 20. I would definitely plan a full park day in each park. If your partial day is at the end, you can decide as you go where you want to go back (provided parks aren’t at capacity). We just spent 3 days at HS and 1 day at each of the others - mostly because of ROTR.
At Epcot, AK and HS, I think you should really try to do everything you can that interests you and utilize rider swap. Don’t know how tall the 5 year old is, but probably everyone but the baby can do most things. There aren’t tons of rides at any of these, so it shouldn’t be a problem.
At MK here’s what I think you should prioritize. We didn’t feel like we needed more than a day at MK. It is probably my least favorite park just because it always feels like it doesn’t quite measure up to DLR. Not that it’s meant to. WDW is meant to be taken as a whole.
Peter Pan
Little Mermaid
Splash (may have to do rider swap)
7DMT (also rider swap)
Pooh
Haunted Mansion
(These are the rides I think are either different enough or better than their DLR counterparts.)
We technically have a 5 day ticket but we land at 3 on Wednesday and the beach is super important to my girls. We are coming from the landlocked mountain west and my girls LOVE the beach. I was thinking we could maybe get a bit of HS in on Wednesday since it most likely will be open the latest unless hours change drastically by then.
I think this is why I’m nervous one day at HS isn’t enough. I guess if we don’t get a boarding group we can try for our next DL trip.
She is about average, but we will have to rider swap with the baby anyway.
In the past, We’ve been able to let the kids ride with dad and then ride with mom with the rider swap. We have three kids now who most likely will want to ride twice, so I don’t know how many get to ride the second time?
Thanks for this list! I will definitely start making lists like this the closer I get to it.
We brought 3 of our great granddaughters, 5, 7 and 8, to WDW in September 2019, first time visit. A hurricane visited during that time as well.
They did a full day at Typhoon Lagoon, a morning at MK (Adventureland and Frontierland), 2 evenings and a morning at Epcot, a morning at AK, a morning and a supper at HS. They talk about Epcot the most. They loved Morocco, Mexico, Norway, China and Germany.
The hurricane caused a lot of disjointedness in the awesomely wonderful trip plans. The girls have no sense of missing anything. And of course can hardly wait to return. Hopefully it won’t be too long.
Should you have questions as you research, let me know.
This could be an Epcot evening, if Frozen is the only must do. You could pop in, do frozen and maybe walk the WS. I still suggest a full day there. So much that DL doesnt offer there. But its an option if u definately want 2 days HS.
I believe it is the adult and up to two others, although if it’s a two-seat ride I don’t see why they wouldn’t let a third child go, no one else is taking that other seat.
I was thinking it was only 2, but maybe we will get lucky and sometimes get all three. Last time we used rider swap we only had 2 kids big enough to ride.
When we used it, they let 3 back for the second ride I didn’t think to politely ask if they could both go - I feel like it wouldn’t have been been a problem at all, especially with the way they are social distancing on rides currently. Twice on EE, it was only me and one of my sons in the entire cart!
We did 4 days - 1 for Epcot, 1 1/2 for MK, 1/2 for HS and 1 for AK. I knew that HS was the least interesting one for my family, and that MK merited more than one visit.
Cosign on all the suggestions to do a full day at each park. With some research into what you want to see and prioritizing, you can do all parks in a day imo. I let my kids pick some rides and I will pick some, before their first visit we looked at pictures and videos.
Remy might be open in Epcot by then too. Full day in Epcot lots of unique attractions: Figment, Living with the Land, Nemo is different, Spaceship Earth, Mission Space, Test Track, Three Caballeros, Frozen and all of the films plus maybe Remy. DHS has less different attractions with just really Rock b Roller Coaster, Slinky Dog Spin, and Mickey and Minnies Runaway Railway (Alien Swirling Saucers is just Tow Maters) and now Tower of Terror I suppose since DLR is updated to Guardians. And the Frozen show is not going to be as good as DLRs. You might get some more shows by then though which would be unique like Indiana Jones and Beauty and the Beast (the Fantasmic is different too but DLR’s is the superior version imho). Animal Kingdom everything is unique except Animation Academy but it doesn’t take long to get thru that whole park and you don’t need more than a day.
The girls have no sense of missing anything. And of course can hardly wait to return. Hopefully it won’t be too long.
I didn’t think to politely ask if they could both go - I feel like it wouldn’t have been been a problem at all, especially with the way they are social distancing on rides currently. Twice on EE, it was only me and one of my sons in the entire cart!